PBMM CH10

He Qing was quickly cleared for discharge by the doctor. He spent a total of one day and one night in the hospital, and throughout that time, Lin Cheng stayed by his side to comfort him. He heard with his own ears someone calling to urge Lin Cheng to return to the company, only for the man to flatly refuse. Lin Cheng set up a small desk in the hospital room, incredibly busy every day, yet still finding the time to take care of He Qing.

Even though the teenager repeatedly told him he didn’t need to sacrifice his time to take care of him, Lin Cheng insisted on staying until he was discharged. This day and night of meticulous care was incredibly precious to He Qing, who had never experienced familial love growing up.

And during that entire day and night, Lin Chi never showed up.

He Qing didn’t say anything, but the sorrow in his eyes was clearly seen by Lin Cheng. The man paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, “By the way, you guys are taking the college entrance exam soon, right?”

The teenager froze, only just realizing that he had been so immersed in his romance with A-Chi these past few days that he had completely forgotten about the exam.

Since childhood, he had hoped to get into a key university, acquire knowledge, find a good job, and live a stable life where he wouldn’t have to worry about food and clothing. But what had he been doing these past few days?

As if he didn’t notice He Qing’s daze, Lin Cheng naturally placed a hand on him, his magnetic voice remarkably steady: “You haven’t been reviewing lately because of your eye injury. Will this affect your exam?”

He Qing’s body stiffened as he dodged the man’s hand. Even though Lin Cheng’s consistent, elder-like attitude had put him slightly at ease during this time, he still couldn’t bring himself to be intimate with this man. Not to mention, he and A-Chi no longer had any relationship…

“Uncle Lin, I’m really sorry for troubling you and… classmate Lin so much recently. I’ll write an IOU for the medical expenses and will definitely pay you back…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Cheng suddenly grabbed the arm he had just pulled away, forcefully pulling the teenager into his embrace. Like a small animal targeted by its natural predator, He Qing felt his hair stand on end, and drops of cold sweat almost instantly beaded on his forehead.

He fiercely drove his elbow backward. Even though he felt it land solidly on the man behind him, those powerful arms still held him tightly. He Qing could feel his own body trembling. “Uncle Lin! Please let me go!”

The hands didn’t let go; instead, they held him even tighter. He felt Lin Cheng lower his head, his lips hovering right by his ear as his deep, magnetic voice slid into his ear canal: “A-Qing, if there is anything you can’t resolve, you can come find me.”

He Qing simply acted like he didn’t hear it. He struggled with all his might but couldn’t escape the man’s embrace. His face flushed bright red, whether from shame or anger. Finally, Lin Cheng voluntarily let go, and he was able to break free.

Stumbling back several steps on his crutches, He Qing distanced himself from Lin Cheng as if fleeing a terrifying beast. Only when he reached what he considered a safe distance did he stop. His eyes, having regained their sight, glared at Lin Cheng with anger and vigilance, as if he would run for his life the second the man made a move.

Meeting the teenager’s gaze, the man’s lips curled up slightly. He remained as gentle as before, but his tone no longer held the vibe of an elder speaking to a junior; instead, it carried a hint of possessiveness. “A-Qing, don’t worry. As long as you are unwilling, I will never force you.”

Anger flashed in He Qing’s eyes: “That morning, you did it on purpose!”

Intentionally staying silent, intentionally smelling like lavender, and intentionally letting A-Chi catch them!

Lin Cheng smiled faintly. He didn’t admit to it, but he didn’t deny it either. “A-Qing, come here.”

He opened his arms, extending a warm embrace toward the teenager like a gentle patriarch. Staring at that embrace, He Qing took a terrified step back. He would never trust the man in front of him again!

“I will repay the medical expenses.” Leaving that single sentence behind, the pale teenager hurriedly hobbled away on his crutches, leaving Lin Cheng still maintaining his open-armed posture. A few seconds later, his gaze darkened as he slowly lowered his hands.

Seeing He Qing leave, a person who had been hiding in the corridor quickly jogged over and respectfully handed a camera to Lin Cheng: “President Lin, how do you think the shots turned out?”

Lin Cheng took the camera. The image displayed was exactly the moment he had hugged He Qing earlier. The only difference was that, from the camera’s angle, it looked much more like He Qing was throwing himself into Lin Cheng’s arms.

“Develop it.”

“Yes! President Lin!”

————

He Qing went to school. Because he truly didn’t have the money for a taxi, he walked all the way from the hospital. The distance wasn’t far, but his injured leg made his movements slow, and it took him a grueling full hour to arrive.

The security guard let him through after a quick glance at his leg. By the time He Qing finally made it to the classroom door, the balding homeroom teacher was passionately lecturing at the podium. He knocked gently. The homeroom teacher looked over, froze for a second, and then turned to the students—who were still playing or sleeping—and said, “Everyone, work on the test papers I just handed out.”

The teenager on crutches watched in confusion as the homeroom teacher walked out of the classroom with a dark expression. “He Qing, I know you got injured at school, but you should have at least called me after waking up. Do you know how worried I was not hearing from you for so long?”

Being scolded right to his face, He Qing was instantly dumbfounded. A-Chi… A-Chi didn’t tell the homeroom teacher?

He looked bewilderedly toward the front row, only to see Lin Chi talking intimately with Sun Yumeng, not even sparing him a glance. He Qing felt a sharp pain in his heart. He quickly snapped back to reality and honestly admitted his fault: “I’m sorry, teacher. It was thoughtless of me, I know I was wrong.”

“As long as you know you were wrong. Alright, alright, you haven’t filled out a leave slip yet. I’ll go get one from the office for you. Go back to your seat first!” The homeroom teacher was ultimately biased toward his only student who actually paid attention in class. Seeing his pitiful expression, he waved his hand and let the matter drop.

Thanking the teacher, He Qing carefully limped into the classroom on his crutches. He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but the moment he stepped inside, the students who had been messing around all seemed to go quiet for a second. Feeling inexplicably uneasy, he quickened his pace toward his seat.

When he reached the first row, a foot suddenly shot out while he was completely off guard, tripping him. The teenager already struggled to balance with his injured leg; tripped like this, he cried out in alarm and crashed to the floor.

“Hahahahaha!!!” Zhang Xu led the laughter, and the classroom immediately erupted into roaring jeers. Amidst the mocking laughter, the disheveled teenager with his leg in a cast sat up, looking around helplessly.

“Get out of the way! You’re blocking my path!” Zhang Xu ruthlessly kicked He Qing’s cast-covered leg. Seeing him flinch in terror and pitifully use his hands to drag his leg away, that overly cautious and meek appearance made Zhang Xu mutter to himself. Would Lin Chi soften up seeing the little mute like this?

He looked at Lin Chi, but saw the person sitting across the aisle looking down at the miserable He Qing with an indifferent expression, showing absolutely no sign of sympathy.

Only then did Zhang Xu feel relieved. Feeling righteous about venting anger on behalf of his friend, he intentionally kicked He Qing a few more times. The teenager forced himself to endure it, carefully reaching out for his crutch. He grabbed one end and tried to pull it up, but it wouldn’t budge. Following the line of sight, he realized the other end was pinned beneath a shoe.

He Qing looked up from those legs and met Lin Chi’s cold gaze. There was no amusement in those eyes, and naturally, no warmth either. He looked condescendingly at the wretched teenager sitting on the ground, saying nothing.

He Qing froze. He didn’t know how to face his former lover. Was he supposed to tell him that the scene he saw that day was intentionally orchestrated by his father?

Looking at the deathly pale He Qing, who was spaced out and seemingly lost in thought, Lin Chi sneered inwardly. He’s probably trying to figure out how to coax me!

Since he’s already latched onto my father, the biggest backer around, why put on this pitiful act to disgust people!

Ultimately, He Qing was the one who spoke first. His voice seemed to choke with sobs, sounding incredibly pitiful: “Could you… lift your foot?”

“Sure.” Lin Chi didn’t bother hiding the malice on his face: “You lift my foot up, I don’t mind.”

His meaning was clear: He Qing had to use his hands to lift it.

The disheveled teenager sitting on the ground stiffened, staring at him rigidly. His eyes were full of sorrow and grievance. Lin Chi sneered in his heart upon seeing this. Grieved? What does he have to be grieved about?

The two stared at each other for a long time. Finally, He Qing lowered his head in defeat, as if drained of all his strength. He slowly reached out his hand, but just as he was about to touch Lin Chi’s shoe, Sun Yumeng’s voice rang out.

“A-Chi, stop messing with people! Hurry up and give the crutch back to He Qing!” She had a reproachful look on her face, and her attitude toward Lin Chi was like a completely different person compared to a few days ago. Currently, she was leaning slightly against Lin Chi, looking at He Qing with eyes full of pity.

He Qing’s hand halted. Though there were no tears in his eyes, he looked at the intimately close pair as if he were crying. Then, he heard Lin Chi use a tone of unprecedented gentleness and indulgence to say: “Alright, I’ll listen to Yumeng.”

The foot left the crutch. He Qing stared blankly, yet he wished he had been the one to move the shoe himself. By his ear was the sound of Sun Yumeng acting coquettishly after getting her way, along with Lin Chi’s sweet words coaxing her with a smile.

He Qing sat stiffly on the ground. The happiness of the past few days didn’t belong to him after all.

Watching the deathly pale teenager limp back to his seat and remain spaced out, Lin Chi gave a cold sneer and turned his face away. Sun Yumeng was already holding her phone and leaning close to him: “A-Chi, look at this, it’s so funny…”

Lin Chi’s face was gentle, but his eyes were filled with impatient coldness. What else can this idiot woman do every day besides play on her phone and scream stupid things! Can’t she just shut up and sit quietly?!

It would be best if she was like He Qing, showing a faint smile when he asked questions, those star-filled eyes brimming with shyness, looking only at him…

Lin Chi suddenly realized what he was thinking and was shocked. No, that’s not right. How could I still care about He Qing, who betrayed me!

It must be because Sun Yumeng is too annoying! That’s right! That must be it!

[Ding! Lin Chi favorability: 88.] The system had witnessed the entire process of how Lin Chi treated He Qing and completely failed to understand why the favorability rating had gone up instead of down.

[Little System~ You don’t get it. Doesn’t the source of hatred stem from love~] He Qing calculated the time. [It’s about time for a deeply agonizing, sadomasochistic confrontation with my Chichi. I just don’t know if our President Lin is going to step up to the plate!]

He maintained his ‘I am miserable and lost’ expression, his mind wandering for the entire class. Once class ended, he watched with sorrowful eyes as Lin Chi left the classroom with Sun Yumeng. The moment they left, Zhang Xu came over.

“Is A-Chi really looking for me?” The teenager’s eyes lit up with excitement as he looked joyfully at Zhang Xu standing by his desk.

Zhang Xu chuckled: “Of course it’s true. A-Chi and I are iron-clad brothers. He said that after school, you should go to the rooftop, and he’ll have a good talk with you! So, do you agree? If you agree, I’ll go tell him.”

He nodded profusely in agreement: “I agree! I agree!”

A-Chi was still willing to talk to him—did that mean he still liked him? He really didn’t want to lose A-Chi!

He Qing decided that tonight, he would tell Lin Chi the truth. He would tell him that he had mistaken the person that morning, and explain exactly why he had proposed breaking up!

__

Author’s Note: 

The setting of this world is that, aside from the addition of Lin Cheng, most of the other events correspond to everything the original host went through. In other words, what He Qing is experiencing is exactly what the original host experienced (except for Lin Cheng).